Nourishing Virtuous Nature: The Foundation of Sagehood and the Core of Self-Cultivation, Family Regulation, State Governance, and World Peace

—An Interpretation of the Eight Items of the Great Learning in the Cheng–Zhu Way of Sagehood

The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi regarded “nourishing virtuous nature” as the central effort in the way of sagehood. Cheng Yi set down “Nourishment must employ reverence; advancing in learning lies in extending knowledge”as the guiding program for learning to become a sage. Zhu Xi then used “abiding in reverence and exhaustively probing principle” to integrate all eight items of the Great Learning: investigating things, extending knowledge, making the will sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. With “learning to become a sage” as its aim, nourishing virtuous nature is not a solitary inward quiet sitting. It is a gradual process intertwined with inquiry into principle and practical engagement in the world. It provides the subjective condition for investigating things and probing principle, the point at which making the will sincere and rectifying the mind are realized, the fundamental orientation of Self-Cultivation and inner sagehood, and the original basis for bringing peace to others and external kingship. Through their Neo Confucian reconstruction of the eight items of the Great Learning, the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi anchored nourishing virtuous nature as the underlying effort for transforming one’s physical disposition, for moving from lower learning to higher understanding, and for ultimately attaining “unity with principle.” They also transformed the traditional ideal of “bringing peace to the world” into a public principle of governance grounded in moral transformation, expressed through the “method of the measuring square” (xieju zhi dao絜矩之道).

I. Conceptual Definition and the Framework of Learning to Become a Sage

 1.1 The Cheng Brothers and Zhu Xi on “Nourishing Virtuous Nature”

The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi defined the substance of “nourishing virtuous nature” as “preserving heavenly principle and curbing human desire.”Through reverent discipline and daily habituation, one protects and expands the originally good nature endowed by Heaven in the human mind, and corrects the defective physical disposition produced by the partiality of one’s qi-endowment(气禀) and by the obscuration of material desire. In their theory, “virtuous nature”is the manifestation of heavenly principle in the human person. Cheng Yi explicitly said, “Human nature is principle.” Heaven endowed human nature is originally good and fully possesses humaneness, rightness, propriety, and wisdom. Yet this inner core is easily obscured by selfish thoughts and sensory desires and cannot of itself issue outward as conduct that accords with heavenly principle. “Nourishment,” therefore, takes “abiding in reverence” as its key practice: at all times one gathers in the body and mind, focuses on principle, removes the disturbances of selfish desire, and allows the originally good nature to manifest and accumulate step by step, until one reaches the state in which “what is sincere within takes form without.”

Cheng Yi identified “reverence” as the core practice of nourishment. He proposed that “nourishment must employ reverence, and advancing in learning lies in extending knowledge.” “Reverence” here does not mean outward politeness or a respectful countenance. It means “concentrating on one thing is called reverence, and not allowing the mind to go elsewhere is called oneness.” The mind remains focused on heavenly principle, does not cling to external things, and does not deviate from the correct path. This is an inward vigilance and discipline. It is neither the Buddhist “empty stillness” of closing one’s eyes in quiet sitting and cutting oneself off from the world, nor a rigid and constrained self-repression. It is the practice of maintaining inward collectedness and seriousness in the arising of thoughts and in dealings with affairs and things. When the mind maintains reverence, deviant and mixed thoughts find no gap through which to enter, and the originally good nature can be preserved, nourished, and expanded.

Zhu Xi built on this and combined “nourishment” and “probing principle” into the “two wheels” or “two wings” of moral advancement: “Abiding in reverence and exhaustively probing principle are two endeavors that stimulate each other. If one can exhaustively probe principle, the effort of abiding in reverence will daily advance; if one can abide in reverence, the effort of exhaustively probing principle will daily become more refined.” Only when the mind maintains reverence can it avoid being blinded by selfish desire and concentrate its energy on investigating the principles of things. Once principle is made clear, one’s knowledge of heavenly principle becomes more distinct, and the effort of reverence likewise becomes more solid. Zhu Xi especially stressed the pervasive character of reverence. From investigating things and extending knowledge to governing the state and bringing peace to the world, whether in inward nourishment or outward action, no point is outside it. As he put it, “The word ‘reverence’ is a beginning to end effort; from investigating things and extending knowledge to governing the state and bringing peace to the world, none lies outside it.” Nourishing virtuous nature is therefore not a task confined to a particular stage. It is the main thread running through all eight items and through the whole process from ordinary person to sage.

 1.2 “Learning to Become a Sage”: The Goal Orientation of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

The Cheng brothers overturned the earlier view that “sages are born.” They asserted, “All people can become sages, and the learning of the junzi must continue until sagehood is reached and only then stop. Those who stop before reaching sagehood are all abandoning themselves” (Works of Bequeathed teachings of the Two Chengs二程遗书, juan 25). The sage is not an unreachable divinity. He is the highest personality that an ordinary person can attain through sustained moral cultivation. One who is determined to learn must take the sage as the ultimate goal and must not stop halfway.

The essential difference between the sage and the ordinary person does not lie in natural endowment. It lies in whether the nourishment of virtuous nature has been brought to its utmost—whether one has fully preserved the originally good nature, completely swept away selfish human desires, and made every word and deed accord with heavenly principle. In his essay “What Yanzi (颜子)Loved to Learn,” Cheng Yi directly called it “learning by which one reaches the way of the sage,” grounding the path to sagehood in long-term nourishment of virtuous nature. Zhu Xi described the state of the sage as “recovering one’s original endowment”: through later cultivation one restores the Heaven endowed perfectly good nature. Nourishing virtuous nature is precisely the daily effort by which this restoration is carried out. Within the Cheng–Zhu system, “learning to become a sage” is not a slogan. It is the concrete direction of nourishing virtuous nature: each step forward in virtue is a step closer to the realm of sagehood, and the highest realm of the sage is the natural result of nourishing virtuous nature to its utmost.

 1.3 The Eight Items of the Great Learning: The Practical Sequence for Nourishing Virtuous Nature

To turn nourishing virtuous nature from an abstract inward cultivation into an executable and verifiable path of moral progress, the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi took up the eight items of the Great Learning—“investigating things, extending knowledge, making the will sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.” They regarded these as a complete process by which nourishing virtuous nature moves from cognition to preservation, from preservation to practice, and from practice to extension. The learner must follow this order, moving from inner to outer, from small to large, and from shallow to deep, doing the work step by step and solidly, so as to achieve the personality of a sage or worthy.

In his Commentary on the Great Learning, Zhu Xi divided the eight items into two sections. Investigating things, extending knowledge, making the will sincere, and rectifying the mind belong to the inner sage effort of “manifesting luminous virtue.” Their core is to understand and restore the originally good nature through nourishing virtuous nature. Self-Cultivation is the hinge linking inner sagehood and external kingship. Regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world belong to the external king effort of “renewing the people.” Their core is to extend one’s already completed virtuous nature to the family, the state, and the world, transforming others and ordering society through virtue.

Although the eight items have stages, they are not sharply separated. Nourishing virtuous nature is the main thread that links them. Investigating things and extending knowledge are its cognitive foundation; making the will sincere and rectifying the mind are its inward actualization; Self-Cultivation is its practical transformation; and regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world are its outward expression and extension. The way of sagehood is thereby transformed from a lofty realm attainable only by a few through natural endowment into an accessible goal that every ordinary person can gradually realize by nourishing virtuous nature through progressive effort.

 II. Investigating Things and Extending Knowledge: The Cognitive Foundation and Starting Point of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

 2.1 The Neo Confucian Substance of Investigating Things and Extending Knowledge

The Cheng brothers’ and Zhu Xi’s interpretation of “investigating things and extending knowledge”differs fundamentally from earlier Confucian commentaries. They elevated this method into a moral cognitive practice for probing heavenly principle and understanding the good nature. Cheng Yi glossed ge(格) as “to arrive,” like the ge(格) in “the ancestors have arrived,” meaning to penetrate deeply into the essence of things. He also said, “For everything there is a principle; one must exhaustively pursue its principle.” All things and affairs in the world possess the principles by which they exist. Investigating things means to probe thoroughly the heavenly principle lying behind them through contact with and analysis of everyday things and affairs. Extending knowledge means to cause one’s cognition to expand continuously until one reaches the state of understanding principle.

For the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi, the term “things” was not limited to natural objects. It broadly encompassed the principles of human relations, daily life, and dealings with affairs. This is the key by which investigating things connects with nourishing virtuous nature. Cheng Yi pointed out that there are many paths for exhaustively probing principle: one may read books and discuss the meanings and principles of the classics; one may evaluate ancient and modern figures to distinguish right from wrong; or one may weigh how to be correct and impartial in handling affairs and dealing with things. Zhu Xi supplemented this with the phrase “approach things and exhaustively probe their principle.” One should not speculate about heavenly principle apart from concrete things, but should seek principle within affairs themselves. Ultimately, this “principle” is connected with the virtuous nature originally present in the human mind. To probe the principle of serving one’s parents is to understand how to fulfill filial piety. To probe the principle of serving one’s ruler is to understand how to fulfill loyalty. To probe the principle of making and keeping friends is to understand how to fulfill trustworthiness. The principles of all things ultimately come to rest in the moral practice of humaneness, rightness, propriety, and wisdom.

Investigating things and extending knowledge is therefore a necessary precondition for nourishing virtuous nature. Without first clearly understanding the content of goodness and the principles of morality, so-called nourishment would be blind subjective self-guarding, or even fall into heterodox paths. Only by exhaustively probing the principles of things and clearly recognizing the substance of morality can one accurately distinguish heavenly principle from human desire in the course of nourishment and correctly expand the good nature.

 2.2 “Nourishment Must Employ Reverence”: The Precondition for Investigating Things and Extending Knowledge

Investigating things and extending knowledge and nourishing virtuous nature are not disconnected in sequence. They are mutually dependent. Investigating things and extending knowledge is the cognitive foundation of nourishing virtuous nature. Nourishing virtuous nature is the precondition for investigating things and extending knowledge to achieve real results. Without the nourishment of reverence, investigation easily falls into absentmindedness and cognitive distortion, and cannot attain the true goal of probing principle.

Cheng Yi’s statement “Nourishment must employ reverence, and advancing in learning lies in extending knowledge” already binds the two together. Only when the mind is serious, collected, and focused, free from restless and scattered thoughts, can one investigate the principles of things without being deluded by appearances or disturbed by selfish desire and prejudice. Conversely, if the mind is lax and indulgent and lacks the foundation of reverence, one’s thoughts will drift when investigating things. One will either be drawn away from the correct path by external things or have the truth obscured by subjective assumptions, making genuine penetration impossible.

Zhu Xi deepened this point with the statement “Maintaining reverence is the root of exhaustively probing principle.” He compared abiding in reverence and probing principle to two feet or two wings that may not be neglected. The whole process of investigating things must be carried out with reverence. When first encountering a thing, one explores its essence with a serious and focused attitude. During the investigation, one collects the body and mind and does not allow mixed thoughts to invade cognition. Afterward, one again uses reverence to consolidate what has been gained, gradually turning external cognition into inner moral awareness. Investigating things cannot be accomplished all at once. It requires daily accumulation. Throughout this process, the effort of reverence must not slacken. Only by maintaining reverence over the long term can cognition gradually deepen and finally reach “a sudden, unobstructed breakthrough.”

 2.3 Accumulation and Breakthrough: The Cognitive Stages of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Nourishing virtuous nature through investigating things and extending knowledge is not achieved by sudden awakening. It is a gradual process moving from the shallow to the deep and from the surface to the interior, synchronized with the progression of virtue from cognition to rootedness and then to expansion.

Cheng Yi opposed the sudden awakening view that “investigating one thing is enough to comprehend all principles.” He said, “People say: investigate one thing today, investigate another tomorrow; when accumulated practice becomes abundant, then suddenly there will be a point of spontaneous breakthrough.” The principles of the myriad things are scattered among countless concrete things. It is impossible to comprehend exhaustively the principles of the world through a single affair. One must investigate persistently over a long period, and when accumulation reaches a certain point, one will naturally form a comprehensive breakthrough in understanding heavenly principle. This “breakthrough” does not mean that one ceases to investigate things thereafter. It means that the virtuous nature in the mind has been fully awakened, enabling one to draw inferences from one instance to another and to connect by analogy, thus uniting the principles one has probed with one’s own good nature.

Zhu Xi took over this doctrine of gradual accumulation and further refined it: “When things are investigated, the utmost points of the principles of things are all reached; when knowledge is extended, what my mind knows is all exhausted.” With regard to the principles of things, investigating things means exhausting them to their utmost without omission. With regard to the mind’s cognition, extending knowledge means extending it to its utmost without obscurity. When long accumulation suddenly breaks through, one can realize the state in which “the external and internal, the coarse and the refined of all things are all reached, and the whole substance and great functioning of my mind are all illuminated.” One fully knows the principles of all things and fully awakens the originally good nature in the mind, so that the moral substance is entirely unobscured.

This process is essentially part of nourishing virtuous nature. At the beginning of investigating things, what the learner probes are the external principles on the surface of things. As nourishment deepens and reaches breakthrough, one realizes that “heavenly principle” and “human nature” were originally connected. The root of the principles of things lies precisely in the originally good nature in the human mind. The ultimate purpose of investigating things is not to acquire external knowledge, but to confirm and expand the originally good nature within the mind. The accumulation achieved through investigating things and extending knowledge is the gradual nourishment of virtue from cognition to self-awareness.

 III. Making the Will Sincere and Rectifying the Mind: The Inward Actualization of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Once investigating things and extending knowledge have clarified heavenly principle, the effort of sagehood turns from external cognition to the preservation and nourishment of the inner mind and nature. This is the task of making the will sincere and rectifying the mind. The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi regarded these two steps as the point at which nourishing virtuous nature is grounded, and as the hinge connecting “investigating things and extending knowledge”with “Self-Cultivation and regulating the family.” Without this step, the heavenly principle previously acquired cannot be turned into real virtue and becomes empty knowledge.

 3.1 Making the Will Sincere: The Real Grounding of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Making the will sincere is the point connecting knowledge and action. Zhu Xi defined it in his Commentary on the Great Learning: “Making one’s will sincere means not deceiving oneself, just as one hates a bad smell and loves a beautiful sight.” The will is true and without falsity. One does not deceive oneself or others. Just as one naturally dislikes a bad smell and naturally delights in a beautiful sight, there is no pretense and no forced effort.

Cheng Yi pointed out that the substance of making the will sincere is to implement genuinely the heavenly principle obtained through investigating things and extending knowledge in one’s thoughts and intentions, so that inner and outer are one. When one knows the good, one inwardly draws near to it and practices it. When one knows evil, one inwardly detests it and keeps away from it. One must not pretend outwardly to love the good and hate evil while inwardly still clinging to selfish desires. The core of making the will sincere lies in “genuineness”—turning external moral cognition into real inner moral awareness. If this is not achieved, what is gained from investigating things is merely empty learning unrelated to oneself and cannot form genuine virtue.

Achieving sincerity of the will depends on nourishment through reverence. The Cheng brothers said, “Reverence is the way to guard against evil.” The word “guard” means to ward off and to stop. Reverence is the method for keeping partial and evil selfish desires from invading the mind. The human mind is easily drawn by selfish desire and gives rise to false and inauthentic thoughts. Only by maintaining reverence at all times, keeping the mind focused on heavenly principle, can one remove at the root the false thoughts of self-deception and spontaneously give rise to genuine moral thoughts. Zhu Xi added that after investigating things and extending knowledge, one must use reverence to awaken and hold fast to the mind, so that genuine thoughts of loving the good and hating evil take root within. Only then can the will be sincere, and only then can virtuous nature truly take hold.

 3.2 Rectifying the Mind: The Mental Equilibrium of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Making the will sincere concerns the sincerity of thoughts and intentions. Rectifying the mind concerns the state of mental equilibrium required for mature virtue. The Great Learning says: “When the person is affected by anger, the mind cannot be correct; when affected by fear, the mind cannot be correct; when affected by partiality and pleasure, the mind cannot be correct; when affected by anxiety and distress, the mind cannot be correct.”Zhu Xi commented that anger, fear, partiality and pleasure, and anxiety and distress are all emotions naturally arising in the human mind and are not evil in themselves. But if the mind lacks the nourishing foundation of reverence and lets emotions erupt at will, allowing them to obscure the lordship of heavenly principle, then the mind loses its equilibrium, and virtuous nature cannot be stably preserved and nourished.

How is the mind rectified? The Cheng brothers’ answer remains nourishment through abiding in reverence. Cheng Yi said, “Reverence is simply concentrating on one thing. When concentrated on one thing, the mind neither goes east nor west; in this way it is simply centered.” Reverence keeps the mind always focused, not drawn by external things, not leaning in any direction, and thus naturally maintains centrality and correctness. If in ordinary life one nourishes the body and mind with reverence, then when responding to affairs the mind naturally conforms to the standard of heavenly principle, and bad emotions are naturally moderated. Without the foundation of reverence, even if one forcibly suppresses emotions, the effect is temporary and cannot maintain equilibrium over the long term, much less form stable virtue.

Zhu Xi further elaborated the relation between rectifying the mind and nourishing virtuous nature. The mind is the master of the body, and virtuous nature is the master of the mind. Only by nourishing the mind with reverence, so that the mind is always under the lordship of virtuous nature and is neither drawn by emotions nor obscured by selfish desire, can it remain always correct. This effort cannot be accomplished all at once. It requires long-term daily examination and discipline. Before encountering things, one collects the body and mind and is vigilant against the sprouting of selfish desire. When encountering things, one weighs the light and the heavy, the urgent and the slow, and does not let emotions sway judgment. Whether in activity or stillness, one maintains reverence at all times, letting heavenly principle always preside over the mind. Only in this way can virtuous nature be continuously preserved and nourished, and gradually form a stable moral concentration, so that even when encountering external disturbances and temptations, one does not lightly deviate from heavenly principle.

 3.3 Being Cautious in Solitude: The Daily Practice of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Making the will sincere and rectifying the mind are in essence self-conscious inner cultivation that does not depend on external supervision. The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi took “being cautious in solitude” from the Great Learning as the concrete method of this practice. In discussing making the will sincere, the Great Learning particularly emphasizes that “the junzi(君子)must be cautious in solitude.” Zhu Xi commented: “The reason the junzi must be cautious in solitude is that what others cannot know, only one knows oneself.” In solitary situations where others cannot see or hear, and when hidden thoughts known only to oneself arise, one still maintains awe and care, treats one’s thoughts with caution, strictly demands oneself according to moral standards, and does nothing that deceives oneself.

Being cautious in solitude is a key practical handle for nourishing virtuous nature and also a standard for testing whether nourishment is effective. In public, under supervision, most people can deliberately display words and conduct that conform to morality. In solitude, without external restraint, many people relax their demands and allow unwholesome thoughts to sprout or even be acted upon. Genuine virtue is exactly preserved and nourished in the subtle details of solitude. If one can be cautious in solitude, remain alert and reverent in subtle details, actively exclude unwholesome thoughts, and gradually expand subtle good thoughts, virtue will gradually take root in the mind. Conversely, if one cannot be cautious in solitude and deliberately does things to conceal them from others, the previous effort of investigating things and extending knowledge will come to nothing, and virtuous nature will have no ground in which to be nourished.

Being cautious in solitude is a deepening of the effort of abiding in reverence. Just as reverence runs through all times, being cautious in solitude is the concrete manifestation of reverence in the solitary scene where there is no external supervision. The Cheng brothers said, “If one guards against evil, sincerity will be preserved of itself.” When alone, one actively guards against and stops the arising of selfish desire and sincerely preserves and nourishes good thoughts. This is the core of being cautious in solitude, and the most genuine state in which making the will sincere and rectifying the mind are actualized.

 IV. Self-Cultivation: The Practical Hub of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Among the eight items, Self-Cultivation is the core hub. The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi held that Self-Cultivation is the direct practical orientation of nourishing virtuous nature and the bridge connecting inner sage effort and external king enterprise. Investigating things and extending knowledge, making the will sincere and rectifying the mind are the inner foundations of Self-Cultivation. Regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world are its natural extensions and outward verification. If one cannot ground practice in the stage of Self-Cultivation, then no matter how profound one’s inner nourishment may be, one cannot accomplish the enterprise of external kingship.

 4.1 The Substance of Self-Cultivation: Nourishing Virtuous Nature and Transforming One’s Physical Disposition

What the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi meant by “Self-Cultivation” was not simply behavioral compliance. It was the continuous nourishment of inner virtue and the thorough transformation of one’s physical disposition. Cheng Yi stated, “Learning is only meritorious when one’s physical disposition has been transformed” (Works of Bequeathed Teachings of the Two Chengs二程遗书, juan 18). The true efficacy of learning and cultivation lies not in the growth of knowledge or superficial behavioral conformity, but in transforming the partial and narrow physical disposition one is born with so that it accords with heavenly principle. Ordinary people deviate from morality because their physical disposition is biased and easily drawn by selfish desire. The substance of Self-Cultivation is to use the effort of nourishing virtuous nature to correct and transform this partial physical disposition continuously, so that the originally good nature fully manifests.

Zhu Xi inherited this meaning and interpreted Self-Cultivation as “removing the obscuration of selfish desire and recovering the original goodness.” The innate nature of human beings is pure and perfectly good, but the physical disposition with which one is born differs in clarity and turbidity, correctness and bias. This disposition is not itself good or evil. Yet in later dealings with affairs and things, the physical disposition is drawn by external things and obscured by selfish desire, so that the originally good nature cannot express itself naturally and may even manifest in evil words and conduct. The core of Self-Cultivation is to use the nourishing effort of reverence. On the one hand, one overcomes selfish desire’s obscuration of the good nature, gradually reducing and even eliminating the influence of human desire. On the other hand, one actively preserves, nourishes, and expands the originally good nature, allowing it gradually to preside over words and conduct, until the physical disposition is completely transformed.

Self-Cultivation is not merely external behavioral correction. It is an integrated internal–external cultivation centered on nourishing virtuous nature. The Cheng brothers said, “What is within will necessarily take shape without.” If one has virtue within, it will naturally express itself in outward words and conduct. In commenting on “Self-Cultivation,” Zhu Xi cited Cheng Yi’s saying, “Use reverence to straighten the inner life and use rightness to square the outer conduct.” Through reverence one nourishes the mind so that it is inwardly upright, and through moral principle one makes conduct conform to proper norms. The substance of Self-Cultivation is to realize the simultaneous rectification of the inner mind and outward behavior through nourishing virtuous nature, so that words and conduct naturally accord with moral standards.

 4.2 Overcoming the Self and Restoring Ritual Propriety: The Practical Method for Nourishing Virtuous Nature

In the practice of Self-Cultivation, the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi inherited Confucius’ teaching of “overcoming the self and restoring ritual propriety.” They took it as the core practical method of nourishing virtuous nature and as the key path for turning inner virtue into outward words and conduct. “Overcoming the self” means restraining one’s own selfish desires and mixed thoughts. “Restoring ritual propriety” means making words and conduct conform to the moral norms of heavenly principle. The Cheng brothers said, “Reverence overcomes a hundred evils” (Reflections on Things at Hand近思录, juan 4). If the mind is sincere and reverent, it can naturally overcome all kinds of disturbances from selfish desire. The process of overcoming the self is in essence also the process of nourishing virtuous nature. Selfish desire and good virtue stand in opposition. To the extent that selfish desire is reduced, good virtue is expanded. The more thoroughly selfish desire is overcome, the deeper nourishment becomes.

Zhu Xi elaborated this practical process. Overcoming the self and restoring ritual propriety must be concretely practiced in the small matters of daily affairs and dealings, without a moment of slackening. In every detail of clothing, food, dwelling, travel, and interaction with others, one must actively restrain selfish desire and make words and conduct fully conform to the norms of ritual propriety. This “ritual propriety”is not an external rigid system, but the concrete embodiment of heavenly principle in social life. One must “not look at what is contrary to ritual propriety, not listen to what is contrary to ritual propriety, not speak what is contrary to ritual propriety, and not do what is contrary to ritual propriety.” In every concrete word and deed one maintains the state of reverence, allowing moral standards to run through all details of conduct.

This practice is a continuous strengthening of nourishing virtuous nature. Through daily and hourly restraint and training, external moral norms gradually become inner moral self-consciousness, and momentary self-consciousness gradually becomes stable moral habit. Ultimately, without deliberate self-restraint or external supervision, words and conduct naturally conform fully to heavenly principle, and virtue reaches maturity. This is the inner logic of the Great Learning’s statement that “only after the self is cultivated can the family be regulated.” Only by completing the nourishment of one’s own virtue can one proceed to transform and educate family members and order society.

 4.3 Cultivating the Self as the Root: The Value Logic of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

The Great Learning says, “From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all alike regard Self-Cultivation as the root.” The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi saw this as the core value logic of the way of sagehood. Whether Son of Heaven or commoner, regardless of one’s enterprise or status, all must take Self-Cultivation as the fundamental premise. Since the substance of Self-Cultivation is nourishing virtuous nature, nourishing virtuous nature is the underlying foundation of all enterprises and the fundamental grounding point for becoming a sage or worthy.

The Cheng brothers used the logic of root and branches to explain the central place of Self-Cultivation. Virtue is the root, and external enterprises are the branches. Only by first establishing the root and completing the nourishment of one’s own virtue does the enterprise of external kingship have a starting point. To desire to transform others and govern the state without first cultivating oneself and nourishing virtue is like seeking luxuriant branches and leaves from a tree without firm roots, or trying to build a tall building without a foundation. It is impossible. Cheng Yi used the planting of a tree as an analogy: “The root must first be cultivated and heaped up; only then can one establish the direction” (Reflections on Things at Hand近思录, juan 2). When planting a tree, one must first firm the soil and nurture the root, and only then can the tree grow tall. Likewise, the learner must first nourish his own virtue before he can establish the correct direction in life. Only then will regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world have firm support.

Zhu Xi clearly divided the eight items in his Commentary on the Great Learning: “From Self-Cultivation upward, these are the affairs of manifesting luminous virtue; from regulating the family downward, these are the affairs of renewing the people.” From investigating things and extending knowledge up to Self-Cultivation is the inner sage effort of manifesting luminous virtue. Its core is to nourish and manifest the Heaven endowed good nature. From regulating the family and governing the state up to bringing peace to the world is the external king effort of renewing the people. Its core is to extend one’s own virtue and transform others. Self-Cultivation is the hinge linking the two. Without the practice of Self-Cultivation, inner virtue cannot genuinely take hold, and manifesting luminous virtue becomes empty. Without the foundation of Self-Cultivation, virtue cannot be extended outward, and renewing the people becomes rootless. Nourishing virtuous nature is therefore not merely a matter of personal moral cultivation. It is the fundamental precondition for all social and political ordering.

 V. Regulating the Family: The Familial Extension of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Regulating the family is the direct extension of Self-Cultivation and the first grounded stage of the enterprise of external kingship. The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi held that the family is the smallest unit of society, an important practical arena for nourishing virtuous nature, and the first step by which personal virtue is extended into social morality. Only by extending one’s own virtue to the family and realizing harmony and moral transformation within it is it possible to proceed to govern the state and bring peace to the world.

 5.1 The Substance of Regulating the Family: Extending One’s Own Virtue to Transform Family Members

The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi understood “regulating the family” as using one’s own virtue to transform all members of the family, enabling them to live in harmony and observe ethical norms. The substance of regulating the family is to extend the virtue nourished through Self-Cultivation and to transform family members, so that under the nourishment of virtue they form good characters. The family is not merely a place of daily life. It is the smallest unit of moral transformation. The natural affection among family members is the most natural and convenient medium for extending morality.

Cheng Yi pointed out, “The root of setting the family in order lies in rectifying one’s own person” (Yichuan’s Commentary on the Changes伊川易传). The root of setting the family in order lies in rectifying one’s own virtue and conduct. One cannot order a family by empty preaching, still less by coercion. One must use one’s own virtue to transform and guide family members. Family members live together day and night, and one’s every word and deed is seen by them. If one’s own virtue is deeply nourished and one’s words and conduct naturally accord with morality, family members will naturally be transformed and will actively imitate them. Conversely, if one’s own virtue is deficient and one’s words and conduct do not accord with morality, yet one demands that family members observe morality, then no matter how pleasing the words, they cannot truly convince anyone, and the family will inevitably be poorly ordered.

Zhu Xi refined this logic in his Commentary on the Great Learning. The core of regulating the family is “extending one’s own virtue to transform family members.”One extends the three basic virtues obtained through Self-Cultivation—filial piety, fraternal respect, and parental kindness—to the family. One teaches younger family members through the filial piety with which one serves one’s parents. One teaches peers through the fraternal respect with which one honors one’s elder brothers. One teaches elders and juniors through the parental kindness with which one lovingly nurtures one’s children. These three virtues are the root of being a person and the core of family ethics. If they can be fully extended within the family, so that all members are transformed by virtue, the family will naturally be harmonious and orderly. Only then will one possess the real basis for further governing the state.

 5.2 Family–State Homology: The Inward to Outward Logic of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi inherited the Confucian idea of family–state homology. This is the logical link by which nourishing virtuous nature extends from Self-Cultivation to regulating the family and then to governing the state. The family is a miniature version of the state, and the state is an enlarged version of the family. The moral logic of ordering the family and the moral logic of ordering the state are the same.

Cheng Hao proposed, “The way of governance takes following the people’s hearts as its root, enriching the people’s livelihood as its root, and bringing peace without disturbance as its root.” The source of this logic of governance lies in family ordering. In the family one speaks of the father being kind and the son being filial. Extended to the state, the ruler should treat the people with the kindness of parents toward children, and the people should serve the ruler with the filial devotion of children toward parents. In the family one speaks of the elder brother being friendly and the younger brother respectful. Extended to the state, officials should treat the people with the friendliness of an elder brother toward younger brothers, and the people should treat officials with the respect of younger brothers toward an elder brother. The fundamental moral norms of governance are the moral extension of family ethics. The root of family ethics lies in the nourishment of the individual’s own virtue.

Zhu Xi explained the idea of family–state homology even more thoroughly in his Commentary on the Great Learning. The core reason why “after the family is regulated, the state is well governed” is that the virtue used in ordering the family can be directly transferred and extended to ordering the state. The junzi need not even leave the household to complete moral transformation in the state. His filial, fraternal, and kind conduct within the family is itself a moral demonstration for governing the state. The filial heart with which he serves his parents can be directly transferred into loyalty with which he serves his ruler. The fraternal heart with which he respects his elder brother can be transferred into respectful deference toward elders. The kind heart with which he lovingly nurtures his children can be transferred into loving care for the people when governing them. A person who cannot even transform family members through virtue or properly manage family relationships must have serious defects in his nourishment of virtue and is utterly incapable of extending virtue to all the people. Only by first realizing family harmony and moral transformation, and thereby verifying one’s capacity to extend virtue, does one become qualified and able to proceed further to govern the state.

 5.3 Transforming Family Members Through Virtue: The Daily Moral Education of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Regulating the family is not accomplished through coercive family rules or harsh punishment. It is accomplished through the subtle, gradual transformation produced by one’s own virtue in daily family life. The Cheng brothers held that the core of family moral education lies in setting an example through one’s own person and moving others through one’s conduct. In Yichuan’s Commentary on the Changes, Cheng Yi stressed that “the way of ordering the family takes rectifying one’s own person as the root.” If one is upright oneself, family members will act even without being ordered. Serving one’s parents with a pleasant countenance and attentive care, getting along with elder brothers with respect and deference and a sincere attitude, and educating children with measured kindness and personal example—these ordinary, subtle daily actions are the best means of family moral education. In practicing virtue within the family, there must be no deliberate pretense or falsity. If one outwardly appears to conform to morality but inwardly lacks true virtue, family members will inevitably feel repelled, and moral transformation cannot be achieved. Only genuine expressions of virtue from within can truly transform family members.

Zhu Xi added that transforming family members through virtue is a long-term, gradual process and must be continuously practiced in daily family life. In eating and resting, in interpersonal interactions, and in handling family affairs, one must at all times give priority to moral standards and let virtue permeate every detail. Over time, family members will naturally be transformed through constant exposure and will actively imitate moral conduct. Moral education within the family is also a further test of one’s own nourishment of virtue. If one can overcome private emotional preferences and treat all family members by fair moral standards, this shows that one’s virtue is sufficiently mature. Conversely, if one only favors those close to oneself and treats other members coldly or harshly, this shows that one’s nourishment of virtue still has serious deficiencies and requires continued effort.

 VI. Governing the State: The Political Extension of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Governing the state is a further extension of regulating the family and the core stage of the enterprise of external kingship. The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi held that the substance of state governance is not to restrain the people through coercive force or institutional regulations. It is to transform and guide the people through the virtue of the ruler and officials themselves. Nourishing virtuous nature is the fundamental precondition for governing the state and the underlying guarantee of long-term peace and stability.

 6.1 Governing by Virtue: Nourishing Virtuous Nature as the Fundamental Basis of State Governance

The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi inherited the Confucian tradition of governing by virtue. They regarded nourishing virtuous nature as the fundamental basis of state governance. The substance of politics is an extension of morality. The fundamental method of governing the state is not harsh laws and punishments or political cunning. It is the ruler’s use of his own virtue to serve as a moral example for the people, transforming and guiding them to observe morality of their own accord, thereby realizing peace and order.

Cheng Hao proposed that “governing the world takes rectifying customs and obtaining worthy talents as its root.” The source of this root still lies in the ruler’s own nourishment of virtue. To make the state’s customs pure and generous and to make the people observe morality, the ruler must first set a moral example. To obtain worthy talents for the state, the ruler must first possess virtue himself, so as to transform and attract people of virtue. Cheng Yi explicitly asserted the direct connection between politics and morality: “Governance lies in cultivating oneself; when the self is upright, officials will be well ordered” (Pure Words of the Two Chengs二程粹言). The fundamental principle of governing the state lies in rectifying one’s own virtue. If one’s own virtue is deep and one’s words and deeds accord with morality, the people will naturally be transformed, and the state can be well governed. Conversely, if the ruler’s own virtue is deficient and his words and deeds do not accord with morality, yet he demands that the people observe morality, then even if he enacts harsh laws he cannot make the people sincerely convinced, and the state will inevitably fall into disorder.

Zhu Xi expressed this logic even more incisively in his Commentary on the Great Learning: “When one family is humane, the whole state rises toward humaneness; when one family is yielding, the whole state rises toward yielding; when one person is greedy and violent, the whole state falls into disorder.” If the ruler practices humaneness within his family, the people of the whole state will be transformed and a climate of humaneness will arise. If the ruler is deferential and courteous within his family, the people of the whole state will imitate him and a climate of deference will arise. Conversely, if the ruler himself is greedy, violent, and contrary to morality, the people of the whole state will be negatively influenced, and society will inevitably fall into turmoil. The ruler’s nourishment of virtue is the core key to state governance. The substance of politics is the process by which the ruler extends his own nourished virtue throughout the entire state.

 6.2 Virtue First, Punishment Second: The Governance Method of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

In concrete governance practice, although the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi did not deny the deterrent function of law, they consistently upheld “virtue as primary and punishment as auxiliary.” Moral transformation is the chief method of governing the state, while punishment is a supplementary means. The underlying logic of this mode of governance remains grounded in the transforming principle of nourishing virtuous nature.

The Cheng brothers held that the core task of governing the state is morally transforming the people and transforming their physical disposition. The fundamental path to this goal is the ruler’s own exemplary virtue and moral education grounded in virtue. Punishment can only punish people after they have committed crimes. It cannot fundamentally awaken a sense of shame in the people. Only through moral education grounded in virtue can one plant moral seeds in the people’s hearts, causing them to detest evil and delight in doing good at the root, and thereby achieve long-term peace and stability.

Zhu Xi compared the relation between virtue and punishment to that between root and leaves. Virtue is the root of governance, like the root of a tree. Punishment is an auxiliary of governance, like the leaves of a tree. Only when the root is firmly planted can the leaves flourish. To govern the state by punishment alone, without moral education grounded in virtue, is like a tree without roots. It cannot survive for long. In his Commentary on the Great Learning, Zhu Xi detailed the concrete methods of moral education. The ruler must carry the virtues nourished in himself—humaneness, rightness, ritual propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—into all policies and daily conduct. He must promote and employ worthy people of virtue and appoint them to offices to teach and transform the people. He must establish ritual and musical institutions that conform to moral standards, so as imperceptibly to edify and transform the people. Through the top down extension of virtue, the people throughout the state will gradually come to understand moral principles, cultivate their own virtue, and voluntarily abandon evil conduct. Punishment can only be a supplementary means after moral education has failed. If the ruler does not give priority to virtuous governance but relies on harsh punishments, even if social order is temporarily stable, it cannot be maintained for long, and genuine great order cannot be realized.

 6.3 Protecting and Loving the People: The Political Value Orientation of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

In the political theory of the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi, nourishing virtuous nature is not a ruler’s personal hobby of Self-Cultivation. It must manifest as the political value orientation of protecting and loving the people and in corresponding benevolent policies. This is the real standard for verifying the nourishment of virtue at the political level, and the core value orientation of state governance.

The substance of Cheng Hao’s “three roots of governance”—“the way of governance takes following the people’s hearts as its root, enriching the people’s livelihood as its root, and bringing peace without disturbance as its root”—is to translate the ruler’s virtue into people loving political measures. Following the people’s hearts means conforming to the people’s genuine wishes and not formulating policies on the basis of one’s own selfish desires. Enriching the people’s livelihood means safeguarding the people’s basic needs so that they are well fed and clothed. Bringing peace without disturbance means reducing excessive interference in the people’s lives so that they may live and work in peace. These three roots are the inevitable expression of the ruler’s virtue in political practice. If his virtue is deeply nourished, he will naturally take the people’s approval or disapproval as the starting point of governance and take the people’s wellbeing as the core objective of policy. Conversely, if he disregards the people’s needs, merely satisfies his own desires, or even exploits and oppresses the people, this shows that his nourishment of virtue is seriously defective and that he is utterly unworthy of occupying a ruling position.

Zhu Xi carried on this people centered thought. In his Commentary on the Great Learning, he pointed out that the ruler’s nourishment of virtue must manifest in the “method of the measuring square”—the spirit of empathy and of taking oneself as the measure: “What you dislike in those above, do not use in dealing with those below; what you dislike in those below, do not use in serving those above.” If one dislikes being treated rudely by superiors, one should not treat the lower people rudely. If one dislikes being treated disloyally by subordinates, one should not treat the ruler disloyally. This method of the measuring square is the concrete expression of humane virtue in political practice. The ruler must extend his own aspiration for a good life to others, discern the true wishes of the people, protect their basic interests, implement benevolent governance, reduce their burdens, and allow them to live and work in peace. Only when this is accomplished can the ruler’s nourishment of virtue be said to have truly taken root at the political level. Only then can the state genuinely achieve great order.

 VII. Bringing Peace to the World: The Ultimate External King Realm of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Bringing peace to the world is the ultimate external king goal of the way of sagehood. Although the Cheng brothers’ and Zhu Xi’s discussion of “bringing peace to the world” was rooted in the traditional concept of “all under Heaven,” their governance logic of “manifesting luminous virtue throughout the world” and their public governance principle centered on moral transformation can be extended as a value norm for modern global governance. In their theoretical system, nourishing virtuous nature is the fundamental precondition for realizing world peace and the ultimate link between the realm of inner sagehood and the enterprise of external kingship.

 7.1 The Substance of Bringing Peace to the World: Nourishing Virtuous Nature and Practicing the Kingly Way

The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi understood “bringing peace to the world” as enabling all people throughout the world to manifest their luminous virtue, to find their proper place, and to live together in harmony. The substance of bringing peace to the world is not to unify the world through coercive force, nor to impose order through institutions and laws. It is through the moral education of sages and worthies to awaken all people’s originally good nature and elevate their nourishment of virtue, thereby ultimately realizing the ideal state in which all people find their proper place and no injustice remains.

The core support of this ideal state is the utmost nourishment and extension of the sage’s virtue. In his Commentary on the Changes, Cheng Yi, explaining the Qian hexagram(乾卦), pointed out that the sage “unites his virtue with Heaven and Earth and unites his brightness with the sun and moon.” When his virtue is flourishing to this degree, naturally “in acting before Heaven, Heaven does not oppose him; in acting after Heaven, he follows Heaven’s timing.” When the sage presides over the world with abundant virtue, the people naturally turn to him. This is not achieved through military conquest or intimidation by coercive power. It is achieved through the utmost transformation of all people by the sage’s utmost nourishment of virtue. When the sage’s nourishment of virtue reaches its utmost, he naturally becomes the moral standard that all people in the world imitate together, and world peace is naturally realized.

Zhu Xi supplied the underlying basis for this logic. The key to bringing peace to the world lies in manifesting luminous virtue throughout the world. The ruler or sage first manifests his own luminous virtue, then extends it from himself to others, enabling all people throughout the world to manifest their luminous virtue. When the ruler possesses the utmost nourishment of virtue and can thoroughly extend it to all the people of the world, so that everyone in the world possesses a stable moral character and consciously practices morality in treating others, then conflict, war, and injustice will naturally cease among the world’s people, and the ultimate ideal of peace can be realized.

 7.2 The Method of the Measuring Square: The Principle for Extending Nourishing Virtuous Nature Throughout the World

The core method for realizing world peace is what the Great Learning calls the “method of the measuring square.” It is the utmost extension of the way of empathy and the concrete principle for extending nourishing virtuous nature at the level of the whole world.

In his Commentary on the Great Learning, Zhu Xi explained the method of the measuring square: “Xie(絜) means to measure; ju(矩) is that by which a square is made.” In plain terms, it is the empathetic principle of measuring others by one’s own heart and extending oneself to others. What one desires for oneself, one actively gives to others. What one dislikes for oneself, one does not impose on others. He elaborated its concrete content: “What you dislike in those above, do not use in dealing with those below; what you dislike in those below, do not use in serving those above; what you dislike in those before, do not use in preceding those after; what you dislike in those after, do not use in following those before; what you dislike on the right, do not use in interacting with those on the left; what you dislike on the left, do not use in interacting with those on the right.” Toward people in all directions—above and below, before and after, left and right—one takes one’s own feelings as the measure and does not impose on anyone the ways of treatment one dislikes. Whether dealing with the people of one’s own state or with the people of other states, one follows this single unified moral standard.

The method of the measuring square is the utmost extension of the way of empathy inherent in nourishing virtuous nature to the level of the whole world. Once a person has nourished virtue, he necessarily has the self-awareness to measure others by his own heart. If this awareness is extended from the family to the state and then from the state to the whole world, then in ordering the world he will respect the people of different states and nations, discern everyone’s genuine wishes, refrain from imposing his own will on others, and treat all states and regions equally. If all rulers throughout the world could follow this virtue based empathetic standard, transforming other states through their own virtue rather than suppressing them through force and hegemony, then the international community would naturally realize fairness and justice, different states and nations would naturally live together in harmony, genuine world peace would be possible, and the ultimate ideal of bringing peace to the world could be realized.

 7.3 The Unity of Heaven and Humanity: The Ultimate Sagehood Realm of Nourishing Virtuous Nature

Bringing peace to the world is not merely a political achievement. It is the utmost outward expression of the sage’s nourishment of virtue. At the same time, the governance practice of bringing peace to the world in turn verifies and completes the sage’s full personality. The two are “one in substance and function, with no gap between the manifest and the hidden,” and together constitute the ultimate realm of the way of sagehood.

The underlying logic of this ultimate realm is the complete interpenetration of heavenly principle and human nature. The Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi both maintained that “human nature is principle.” Human virtue is the concrete embodiment of heavenly principle in the human person. The reason the sage is a sage is that his nourishment of virtue has reached its utmost, fully returning to his Heaven endowed original nature and thoroughly becoming one with heavenly principle. Every word and deed naturally conform to the laws of heavenly principle. Without deliberate thought or forced practice, he naturally performs conduct in accord with morality, realizing the moral freedom of “following the heart’s desires without transgressing the measure.”

The sage’s utmost virtue necessarily expresses itself outwardly in the ultimate achievement of bringing peace to the world. The sage’s inner virtue is filled with the feeling of loving people and caring for things, and this feeling will necessarily be extended throughout the whole world, so that all people and even all creatures under Heaven receive the transforming influence of his virtue. Guided by virtue, the sage practices the method of the measuring square and implements benevolent governance, transforming all the people through his moral words and deeds, so that they too awaken their Heaven endowed good nature and together enter the ideal state of harmony and peace. Conversely, it is precisely because the sage has completed the ultimate achievement of bringing peace to the world that his nourishment of virtue has been most thoroughly verified, realizing the complete unity of inner sagehood and external kingship. The ultimate realm of the way of sagehood moves from inner to outer and links inner and outer. The utmost inner nourishment of virtue necessarily expresses itself as the ultimate achievement of bringing peace to the world, and this ultimate achievement in turn perfects the sage’s complete moral personality.

From a modern perspective, the Cheng brothers’ and Zhu Xi’s idea of bringing peace to the world can be extended as a value norm for contemporary global governance. The requirement to nourish virtuous nature applies not only to individuals and nation states but also to all agents of global governance. Rulers of all countries and the international community should follow the method of the measuring square, take their own nourishment of virtue as the foundation, take the moral spirit of humaneness, equality, and empathy as the value norm of governance, treat all countries and nations of the world equally, respect each country’s autonomous choices, resolve international conflicts through moral transformation, consultation, and cooperation, and promote the realization of fairness, justice, harmony, and peace in global society.

 VIII. Conclusion: Nourishing Virtuous Nature as the Main Thread Running Through the Way of Sagehood

The way of sagehood constructed by the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi is a complete logical system. It takes “learning to become a sage” as its ultimate goal, the eight items of the Great Learning as its gradual practical sequence, and “nourishing virtuous nature” as its core connecting thread. Nourishing virtuous nature is not a specific task confined to one stage of cultivation. It is the underlying effort running through all items from investigating things and extending knowledge to bringing peace to the world, linking inner sagehood and external kingship, and connecting knowledge and action from beginning to end. If this main thread is lost, the cultivation stages and political achievements of the whole way of sagehood lose their moral foundation and degenerate into formalistic empty talk.

From the level of inner sagehood and Self-Cultivation, nourishing virtuous nature is the core root of cultivating the self, and it interacts with and promotes the cognitive process of investigating things and extending knowledge. Investigating things and extending knowledge is the cognitive foundation of nourishing virtuous nature. Only by probing the heavenly principle behind things and clarifying the substance and content of morality can one accurately preserve and nourish virtue in daily life and distinguish the boundary between heavenly principle and human desire. Nourishing virtuous nature is also the precondition for investigating things and extending knowledge to achieve real results. Only by maintaining reverence at all times, collecting body and mind, and removing the disturbances of selfish desire can one avoid being deluded by subjective prejudice and external desire when investigating principles and truly penetrate the knowledge of heavenly principle. Making the will sincere and rectifying the mind are the inward grounding and strengthening of nourishing virtuous nature. Through the self-conscious practice of being cautious in solitude, one turns heavenly principle into real inner moral intention, keeps the mind always centered and correct, and consolidates the inner root of virtue. Self-Cultivation is then the daily practical transformation of nourishing virtuous nature. It turns inner virtue into actual moral conduct in daily words and deeds, realizes the transformation of one’s physical disposition, and completes the personality sedimentation of the inner sage stage.

From the level of external kingship and bringing peace to others, nourishing virtuous nature is the original source and basis of the enterprise of external kingship, and the bridge linking the personality of inner sagehood with the achievements of external kingship. Regulating the family is the first outward level of nourishing virtuous nature. One extends one’s own virtue to transform family members, realizes family harmony and order through the family ethics of filial piety, fraternal respect, and parental kindness, and lays the foundation for governing the state. Governing the state is the political extension of nourishing virtuous nature. One directly transfers the moral logic of family ethics into the moral norms of state governance, uses one’s own virtue as an example to implement virtuous governance and transform the people, and realizes long-term peace and stability of the state. Bringing peace to the world is the utmost outward expression and final verification of nourishing virtuous nature. One extends humane virtue throughout the world, realizes global harmony and peace through the empathetic standard of the method of the measuring square, and completes the ultimate external king achievement of the sage or worthy.

The logical starting point of this intellectual system is the presupposition that human nature is originally good as a Heaven endowed virtue. The logical main thread is the effort of nourishing virtue through preserving heavenly principle and curbing human desire. The logical endpoint is the highest sagehood realm of the unity of Heaven and humanity and the unity of inner sagehood and external kingship. In the view of the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi, the sage or worthy is not an unreachable being. He is the personality expression of nourishing virtuous nature to its utmost. Even if a person has no external achievements, as long as he can nourish his own virtue to a state of pure and perfect goodness, he can reach the standard of sagehood in the spiritual realm. Conversely, without nourishing virtue, no matter how much knowledge one possesses or how great one’s external achievements are, one cannot truly approach the realm of the sage.

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